


practice makes perfect

by wbtrashking (fan_nerd)



Series: body music (reverse au) [16]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Injury, M/M, Role Reversal AU, reverse au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 04:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10454895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fan_nerd/pseuds/wbtrashking
Summary: Yuuri takes a hard fall at practice.Victor has a lot of questions as to why the older man looks so washed out, and why hispartnerhas never told him about his right knee.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is a bit short, but i haven’t written anything for the reverse AU in a while, and i wanted to remedy that! enjoy! ♥

Most nights after practice, Yuuri does well to have a quick wash up, pet Yukachin, and put on loose pajamas before he hits the pillow and passes out. It’s especially tough to keep his eyes open after he and Victor have been bickering about programs, costumes, and so forth.

His pupil is much the same, exhaustedly dragging himself into bed in nothing but a fluffy robe, latching onto Yuuri with a shiver and making both of them grumble when they get too hot. 

Life in St. Petersburg is peaceful for both of them, what with their evening routine occasionally interrupted by Yuri Plisetsky ardently knocking on the door and demanding that they feed him, and Yukachin slobbering for walks in the middle of the night.

Their days are packed – busy, and disastrously so – but Victor’s heart is always warmed when he looks over at his coach. They have matching bags under their eyes, frustrations they’ve worked through together, and life is good.

Until the day Yuuri takes a spill on the ice, Victor thinks they’ve talked about all of their biggest strains and personal issues. He mistakenly assumes that just because Yuuri is happy, is opening up to him more and more every day, that very little could happen that will make him upset with the love of his life.

//

Yakov is actually the first person to confirm something he’s been thinking about. Victor has razor sharp eyes, has been studying Yuuri Katsuki, the _skater_ , since he was ten years old, but this is one area he doesn’t have full expertise in.

“He’s got a weak right knee,” Yakov grunts quietly, pausing to tell his newest student to correct his posture, feeling proud of Katsuki for powering through the tough motions of his program without a complaint. “It doesn’t seem like a new injury, either. He’s been taking care of it and making sure it doesn’t become an issue.” 

The silver-haired young man purses his lips. _I thought exactly the same_. Yuuri makes sure that the both of them stretch thoroughly before practice, and ice down afterwards, if Victor so much as insinuates that he’s sore.

Victor can’t decide if he’s infuriated that Yuuri’s been hiding his injury, or whether he’s simply upset because he’s leapt to the wrong conclusion, and all along, Yuuri’s been a proper coach, taking care of Victor, making sure _Victor_ doesn’t wind up breaking his legs in the rink.

One gloomy afternoon in the summer, where rain has just passed and the sun is starting to creep through the windows, Yuuri sets up for a triple loop and he completely wipes out. It’s a nasty fall. Victor and Yakov rush to his side while he’s still wincing, and both of their instincts kick in as Yuuri hesitatingly touches his leg. 

“It’s your knee, right?” Victor scowls deeply. Yuuri neither confirms nor denies this. In fact, he point-blank refuses to look Victor in the eyes. “ _Yuuri_.”

His coach sighs and slowly gives Victor a testy reply. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” 

“Hah!” Yakov snorts, jabbing his index finger into the joint and scowls when the brunette scrunches his eyes and gasps in pain. “That so? Oy! Somebody call the medic. We’re sending Katsuki home.”

Yuuri attempts to stand and is stopped midway through doing so by Victor. His blue eyes are narrowed and hurt, and he knows he has an explanation to deliver. The real question is whether he’s ready to talk about it or not.

After he gets into a taxi, fussing with the medic and Yakov that he’s fine and Victor glares at him, he realizes that he _needs_ to, so he sucks it up and pouts until he’s home in his bed, fully capable of walking to his bed, albeit shakily.

// 

Victor and Yuuri sit in heavy silence before the older man folds his arms in his lap and says, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It just wasn’t a big deal.”

“But it _could’ve_ been a big deal,” Victor grumbles back, which just makes Yuuri irritated. After a moment, the silver-haired skater sighs and tones down his ire as he speaks. “Yuuri, I’m just _worried_ about you. You making a comeback could destroy your knee if you’re not careful, and I don’t…” He chokes up a bit, and Yuuri realizes the true gravity of the situation at last. “I don’t want this year to keep you from skating _forever_.” 

Yuuri reaches for Victor’s hand, drawing in a deep breath slowly. “I’m not planning on letting that happen, Victor. It was just one bad fall.”

Perhaps a bit viciously, Victor quips back, “So you’re planning on making that your last fall of the season, then?”

The brunette glares and pouts. “You didn’t have to say that like I fall all the time and you definitely don’t have to keep getting mad at me for actually trying to _talk_ about this, Victor.”

Victor sighs and clenches Yuuri’s hand tightly. “Sorry,” he whispers tightly, still wound up. “You don’t know what it’s like, watching you fall.”

All the air had been snatched from his lungs. To see his idol slip and crash, to witness the struggle of someone Victor had long thought of as bigger than himself – it’s devastating. It burns even worse because Yuuri’s his partner, or at least, he’s supposed to be. 

“I want to be there to support you, Yuuri,” Victor lifts Yuuri’s hand to his temple with a wobbly lower lip. “I want you to feel like you can trust me with anything, especially if it pertains to skating.” 

Yuuri pauses for a moment before nodding. “Yeah.” Before he can stop himself, he quietly admits, “I just didn’t want you to find out about something so stupid. I didn’t want _anyone_ to know. In a way, the timing of my break was perfect. My knee started to bother me just before I left Detroit.” Victor blinks at that. “What? Don’t give me that. It doesn’t hurt _all_ the time, and it really isn’t that bad, Victor, I promise. I’ve been to the doctor. It’s easily sprained, is all. I might even have a torn meniscus, but surgery for that wouldn’t put me off of the ice for more than a week or two.”

Victor sighs, his lips slowly curving into a smile. “Okay. But next time, don’t wait to let me know you’re tired and your knee hurts until you’re hitting the ground, okay?”

The older man flicks his student in the forehead, sardonically grinning back. “Yes, yes. Now, are you going to let me rest or not?” 

His student kisses his cheek and pushes Yuuri back against the pillows, making him sink back on the mattress a bit. The ice pack wrapped around his knee slips just slightly. “I thought you said it didn’t bother you that much.”

Yuuri rolls his eyes and tangles his fingers in Victor’s ponytail.  “I swear to god, I’ll divorce you.”

Victor whines high in his throat when he pulls away from his coach’s lips. “We haven’t even gotten married yet!”

“I’ll marry you and then I’ll divorce you,” Yuuri assures him, deadpan as he keeps kissing his partner.

“Cruelty, truly,” Victor murmurs, softening at the edges and giving in. “No love for a suffering man, I tell you.”

“You’re the one who was all heated up,” Yuuri says as they finally settle properly and Victor sets the full brunt of his weight on Yuuri’s chest.

The younger man huffs. “I’m still mad.” He pokes Yuuri’s cheeks. “I’m not as upset as I was, but I’m still plenty mad. I plan on being infuriated for approximately the next ten hours.”

“That’s a long time,” Yuuri breathes out laboriously, waiting for Victor to move so he can properly inhale and exhale. “You’re sure about that?” 

“No,” Victor quickly replies, rolling his eyes. “I’m just messing with you.”

The two of them get settled and just ramble about whatever until Yuuri dozes off and Victor toys with his phone.

It takes him longer than usual to get to sleep because he’s still worried about his coach, but he trusts that Yuuri _does_ know what he’s doing. He’s been a professional athlete for a long time.

Victor doesn’t cling as tightly as he usually does, but he wakes to find Yuuri piddling around the room like nothing is wrong, so he smiles and tries to keep a lid on his worries, standing up to kiss the love of his life. 

They have a lot to learn about each other, but that’s what Victor loves about their relationship.

Yuuri looks back at him with a reassuring expression and he knows that both of them are giving this their all.

In Victor’s humble opinion, that alone makes dating Yuuri worth it. 

Both of them want to be there, want to be together, and he relishes every minute of Yuuri’s time.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! as always, thanks for checking out stuff with the reverse AU! ♥
> 
> ✮reverse AU blog [@yoireverse](http://yoireverse.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> ✮[my tumblr](http://wbtrashking.tumblr.com/)  
> ✮[my twitter](https://twitter.com/wbtrashking)
> 
> ✮[em's art blog](http://narootos.tumblr.com/)!  
> ✮[em's twitter](https://twitter.com/softcoachyuuri)


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